The New York Times
Colombian Rebels Release Videos Of Hostage Troops
A Colombian senator on Monday released rebel videos of kidnapped soldiers and police who pleaded with the government to negotiate their release after some of them have spent more than a decade in jungle camps.--The New York Times.
Encuentra aquí lo último en Semana
The grainy videos showed the nine hostages alone in the jungle or sitting before colored sheets hiding their location as they sent wishes to wives, sons and daughters and urged President Alvaro Uribe not to forget them.
"What is happening, are we not human any more? Are we just animals?" one hostage soldier, Sgt. Arbey Delgado, said.
The men are among 24 police and soldiers held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America's oldest surviving insurgency. Some have spent nearly 11 years in captivity after guerrillas overran their bases.
The proof-of-life videos were handed over by the FARC to a left-leaning senator, Piedad Cordoba, who has in the past helped broker releases of FARC hostages. Attempts to negotiate a full deal to free the hostages have been stalled for years.
The plight of Colombia's FARC hostages drew worldwide attention last year with the military rescue of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three American contractors held for more than five years.
Helped by U.S. military aid, Uribe has sent troops to take back territory and the guerrillas have been battered to their weakest state in years by desertions, the deaths of several top commanders and the rescue of several high-profile hostages.
Read more here.
Semana International delivers news about Colombia in English. Find more in our home.
Tendencias
